Breastfeeding and Returning to Work

If you told me when I was pregnant that I’d be breastfeeding once I’d returned to work, I’d have said you were crazy. My plan was to breastfeed for 6 months then switch to formula because I thought *that’s what people did*. I’m not sure who these people are, but nonetheless, that was my plan.

When I got to 6 months, I didn’t see the need for switching to formula. I was extremely lucky that breastfeeding was very successful, and I wasn’t going to rock the boat by introducing something alien to Alfie. I also wasn’t going to make my life harder by introducing bottles to sterilise and spending money on formula that we didn’t need.

An early breastfeeding moment – at this point it never crossed my mind I’d still be feeding when I returned to work

So I changed my goal.

I was going to feed Alfie until he was one. It is widely recommended that you keep a baby on breastmilk or formula until they are at least one and then you can introduce cows milk (or another type of milk). So that’s what I did.

As my return to work drew closer, I started to think about what I was going to do about breastfeeding once I was back at work. I would return two weeks after Alfie’s first birthday. It wasn’t going to be possible to just stop – it wouldn’t be fair on Alfie and it wouldn’t be fair on my poor boobs.

I knew that legally, my company had to support me in my decision to continue breastfeeding by providing a clean, private room. They also had to provide a fridge for my milk to be stored and adequate breaks for me to pump (although they don’t have to be paid). They are NOT allowed to suggest you use a toilet.

I have to admit I was extremely nervous about approaching my HR contact about this. I was putting in a request to change my hours, and didn’t want this to be used against me. But honestly I had nothing to worry about. My company were beyond helpful in giving me all the information I needed and ensuring that I could pump as often as I needed to when I was at work. At this point, Alfie was still feeding at least 4 times a day, so I estimated I would need to pump twice a day.

My trusted Medela Swing Pump

The next issue to tackle was nursery. I didn’t know if Alfie would want breastmilk during the day, especially as it would be coming from a cup, not a bottle. Would nursery know how to store my milk and heat it up correctly? With formula being a lot more common nowadays, it was likely they were used to dealing with that and not breastmilk.

As it turned out, I really needn’t have worried so much. I returned to work with my trusted Medela breast pump in my bag, and sent Alfie to nursery on his first day without any milk. He had been on cows milk for two weeks and was loving it! He had cut his feeds right down to just first thing in the morning, one afternoon and an evening feed, so I was confident that he would be fine without his milk in the day.

I didn’t even need to pump at work. To be honest I was more worried about being uncomfortable and having full breasts than pumping to supply Alfie with milk for nursery. But I managed to make it through the whole day without needing to pump. I fed Alfie first thing in the morning before work and when I got home from work. Quite quickly we cut out the evening feed as he was often asleep when I got home as he was so exhausted from nursery!

So all that worrying was for nothing. I didn’t have to give up breastfeeding. Alfie still fed when he wanted to at the weekends, or on days off, but was happy to go without when I was at work. It’s amazing how babies adapt to their situations. I was a bit worried that he might state waking again at night to make your for his lost milk, but that didn’t happen.

If you are worried about returning to work when you are breastfeeding, speak to other mums who have done it. This really reassured me that it was possible. Trust that your baby will adapt to fit in with your new routine and make sure you communicate with your work if you are unhappy about something.

All the essentials in my back to work kit!

I’m so pleased that I didn’t have to stop breastfeeding once I’d returned to work. It really wouldn’t have been fair to Alfie to suddenly have to stop getting his milk like he had the past 12 months because I was at work.

We came up with a routine that worked from us, and we did that by following Alfie’s lead. I believe our baby-led approach to parenting really helped us have a successful transition.

I wasn’t ready to stop breastfeeding just because I had to return to work

Have you gone back to work whilst breastfeeding? What was your experience?

32 Comments

I returned to work at the beginning of the month with baby girl 8 months old. She was and still is exclusively breastfed. I have tried her on a bottle but she wont take it and will throw it from my hands!. I feed her before and after work. On my days off she feeds when she wants similar to you. My mum looks after her while I’m at work and she says she doesnt even look for milk. I was worried about full breasts while at work, but my body seems to have accomodated the change. Its marvellous how babies and your bodies adapt to chnage.

Its8so great isn’t that returning to work doesn’t mean you have to give up breastfeeding and I love hear stories from people who managed it successfully. It is so amazing how your baby and body adapts quickly. Thanks for reading and sharing 🙂

I to did all the plans and the week before I returned to work at five and a half months he refused to feed. He had always had one bottle of formula a day due to him being early and while we waited for my milk to kick in he had a daddy bottle. That continued as it was a positive experience for Daddy and son (and it gave me a break). I agree letting him take control was much easier than making him have something he didn’t want. #ablogginggoodtime

This is so lovely to read. I had my two boys in Canada and was pretty shocked at the UK’s views on breastfeeding. In Toronto, I could count on one hand the number of mums who stopped breastfeeding before one.

Well done for doing what felt right rather than what was expected – you are giving courage to other mums who want to do the same x

Thank you for your lovely reply! I think I have been incredibly lucky that I had the right support to have a great time with breastfeeding, which meant it was an easy decision for me to make to continue when I was back at work. Thanks for reading.

I’m so glad you posted this! My little one is only 2 months old at the moment, but I’ve been considering going back to work part time once he reaches 6 months so fingers crossed I’ll have a smooth transition into potentially expressing milk at work! x

This is the exact issue I’m having as I assumed I’d switch when I return to work (sadly when J is around 10 months) but I really don’t want to. >_< Unfortunately I work in a teeny tiny office where this is no spare room to pump so I just don't know what I'm going to do! Thanks for linking to #MarvMondays. Kaye xo

You might find that by 10 months, he won’t feed as much anyway. It may take a little period of adjustment, but I hear of so many babies that just naturally cut down to to morning and evening feeds when mum returns to work, and this is certainly what Alfie did with no bother at all. I hope you can figure it out and you don’t have to stop before you want to xx

I am glad you had a good experience. I was very fortunate that I was able to return to work just 2 days each week and, even though I did need to express during the day, it worked well and I was supported to do so. I was glad to not have to return to work after the second one though!

Aw bless you, I recently returned to work and it’s hard enough without juggling breastfeeding/expressing too. However Medela pumps are awesome! Thanks for linking up to #DreamTeam, apologies for the late commenting this week! xx

You are so right. Babies adapt so easily and the worry before the event is always worse than the actual thing you’re worrying about ha! I returned to employment after my son turned one and he had a little feed before I left and a night time feed. The morning feed disappeared quickly and we enjoyed a bedtime feed until he was 16 months x

I went back to work when small was 8 months, and I dreaded it! I needn’t have worried though, he’s always just had food and water in my absence (expressed milk is poison, don’t you know?! At least that’s what he says…!) I don’t express at work, either. Happily feeding at 20 months still! I’m part time at the moment (3 days) but going full time for 3 months in September (he’ll be 2) so hopefully that’ll be a smooth transition too! Great post.

The Face Behind The Blog

Hello, I'm Abi and I am the face behind the blog, Something About Baby. This is my space where I write all about being mum to Alfie, who was born in July 2015, and wife to Craig. Check out my About Me section to find out more.